EU migration and asylum policy – situations of crisis and force majeure

KEY POINTS

Scope

The regulation covers:

• situations of crisis, including instrumentalisation, and force majeure, describing these, respectively, as:
  • an exceptional situation of mass arrivals of non-EU nationals or stateless persons in a Member State, of such a scale and nature that it renders the Member State’s well-prepared systems non-functional, such that there could be serious consequences for the functioning of the Common European Asylum System,
  • a situation where a non-EU country (third country) or a hostile non-state actor encourages or facilitates the movement of non-EU nationals or stateless persons to the external borders of the EU or to a Member State with the aim of destabilising the EU or the Member States, and where such actions are liable to put at risk essential functions of a Member State (instrumentalisation);
• abnormal and unforeseeable circumstances outside a Member State’s control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided in spite of the exercise of all due care (force majeure).

The measures must:

• be temporary, necessary, proportionate, appropriate and limited to exceptional circumstances;
• respect the rights of applicants for and beneficiaries of international protection, including the right to asylum and the respect of the principle of non-refoulement;
• comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the general principles of EU law and international law and the EU’s asylum legislation.

Governance

Under the procedure:

• a Member State facing a situation of crisis or force majeure provides a description of the situation and requests that the European Commission provide help and, where relevant, temporary derogations from existing rules;
• the Commission:
  • assesses the situation, with the help of relevant EU agencies and international organisations,
  • decides, within two weeks at the most, whether the Member State concerned is facing a determined situation and sends its decision (implementing decision) to the European Parliament and to the Council of the European Union,
  • the Commission makes, where appropriate, a proposal for a Council implementing decision with the proposed measures to be taken (a draft solidarity response plan and derogations);
• the Council, on the basis of the Commission’s proposal, decides, within two weeks, the action to be taken, setting out:
  • the authorisation for the Member State to apply the derogations,
  • a solidarity response plan, where appropriate, including the solidarity measures that the Member State can benefit from in order to address the situation;
• the maximum total duration for the application of the derogations and solidarity measures is one year (with an initial period of three months that can be renewed);
• the Commission:
  • monitors the situation, together with the Council,
  • pays special attention to the respect of fundamental rights and humanitarian standards,
  • repeals, amends and extends the various measures, depending on how the situation evolves,
  • reports to the Parliament and to the Council every three months after the entry into force of the Council Decision;
• the EU Solidarity Coordinator:
  • supports the relocation activities from the Member State concerned to other Member States (relocation),
  • promotes Member States’ preparedness, cooperation and resilience in implementing EU asylum and migration policies,
  • issues a fortnightly bulletin on the relocation mechanism.

Solidarity measures

A Member State may request the following assistance from its EU partners:

• relocation of asylum seekers or beneficiaries of international protection;
• financial contributions;
• alternative support, such as for border management and capacity building.

Derogations

A Member State may, depending on the situation, benefit from the following temporary exemptions:

• an extension of the deadline for registration of applicants for international protection from five days to four weeks after the applications are lodged, with priority given to people with special needs and minors and their families;
• an extension of the duration of the border procedure and the return border procedure by an additional period of six weeks;
• changes in the scope of the border procedure;
• an extension of the timeline for the Dublin procedure;
• a release from the obligation to take back asylum seekers from another Member State.

Expedited procedure

In specific situations, the Commission can adopt a recommendation on an expedited procedure for granting international protection to applicants from a specific country of origin. The aim is to speed up the procedures and finalise them within four weeks for groups with likely well-founded applications.

Final provisions

Member States include in their crisis preparedness national strategies:

• contingency planning and preventive measures to reduce the risk of crises;
• an analysis of the means needed to handle crises and to protect the rights of applicants for and beneficiaries of international protection.

EU financial support is available to Member States taking migrants from a Member State in crisis, while the latter is eligible for funding for the construction, maintenance and renovation of reception facilities.

The regulation amends Regulation (EU) 2021/1147 on the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.